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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24316759">Blue and Gold</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/55vre55/pseuds/55vre55'>55vre55</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>National Theatre, Treasure Island - Lavery, Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Based off the National Theatre production, Female Jim Hawkins, Gen, Grief/Mourning, National Theatre - Freeform, Parrots, Past Character Death, Pirates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:21:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>672</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24316759</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/55vre55/pseuds/55vre55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They’re less than an hour’s sail from the island when she spots him, just a distant speck.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jim Hawkins &amp; Flint the Parrot, Jim Hawkins &amp; Long John Silver, possible Jim Hawkins/Long John Silver</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Blue and Gold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Based on the 2015 National Theatre production of Treasure Island with Arthur Darvill and Patsy Ferran, recently broadcast online as part of their National Theatre At Home series.</p>
<p>No explicit description of character deaths, but definitely refers to the sheer number of casualties in this particular adaptation.</p>
<p>I have a lot of feelings about Jim, Silver, and Flint, okay?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They’re less than an hour’s sail from the island when she spots him, just a distant speck.</p>
<p>(It’d taken far too long for the others to collect all the gold they could carry. Jim, sick at the thought of going back down in those tunnels, of going anywhere near that pile <em>(his grave)</em>, had instead gone to collect whatever food and water she could find on the wretched island. If she just focuses on getting them home, maybe she won’t have to think about what they lost.)</p>
<p>(The gold sits now, heavy in the belly of her Hispaniola. It feels just like the rock that sank into her own stomach when <em>he</em> kissed her.)</p>
<p>Gray’s at the helm, steady as ever, and the Doctor, Silent Sue, and Squire have each already disappeared below deck. She’s not sure where Ben Gunn has slipped off to, but he’s nowhere in sight.</p>
<p>(She isn’t sure she could face him just now, not after what his plan, his tunnels did to—)</p>
<p>Jim’s grateful for a steady wind at their back, bearing them fast away from the island. She’s glad to be off it, and never wants to set foot on it again. Still, she can’t help but stand on the deck, watching it shrink on the horizon.</p>
<p>(In another life, perhaps she’d have had a warm presence at her back, an arm around her waist, as they left the island behind. Is it possible to miss something you aren’t sure you ever wanted?)</p>
<p>Her need to watch the island disappear is the only reason she spots him, winging his way fast towards them.</p>
<p>Captain Flint flutters down onto the railing next to her, and she abruptly realizes her cheeks are damp.</p>
<p>“Oh, you beauty,” she croaks past the unexpected lump in her throat. She holds out a finger to stroke the bird’s chest; he rustles his wings, chirruping, and leans into her touch.</p>
<p>(She’d loved talking to Flint, between chores. Sneaking him bits of sausage, trying to teach him new phrases, watching him soar above the ship on clear days. <em>He’d</em> acted annoyed whenever she paid more attention to the bird than him, but she’d also caught him smiling the day she finally succeeded in getting Flint to squawk “more turnips!”.)</p>
<p>“What— You shouldn’t be here,” she says softly. “You’re supposed to be with—” She chokes on a sudden sob, hunching over, both hands white-knuckled on the railing. She feels as though she might be sick.</p>
<p>Flint chirrups again and shuffles closer. “Pieces of eight,” he croaks, and though she’s probably imagining it, he somehow sounds… sad. Bereft.</p>
<p>Alone.</p>
<p>She heaves in one deep breath, then another, trying to get them past the tightness in her chest.</p>
<p>(None of the others seem to be at all bothered by what they’d done, but then, none of the others knew the crew <em>(the pirates (him))</em> near as well as she did. She’d talked with them, cooked for them, listened to their wild stories down there in the galley, two decks below her very feet, and now they’re all—)</p>
<p>(She swears she doesn’t believe in ghosts. She’s not sure the ghosts believe her.)</p>
<p>It’s a long moment before she manages to straighten, wiping her face on her sleeve, breathing shakily. By the time she looks up, the island has shrunk to smaller than her thumb. She could scoop it up and put it in her pocket.</p>
<p>She shakes that thought away and looks back at the bird. “Just you and me now, I suppose,” she says.</p>
<p>Flint’s wings flutter and he’s suddenly on her shoulder, perched as if he’s always belonged there. His warm weight is comforting, despite the sharp prick of his talons through her shirt, and she reaches up to stroke his chest again.</p>
<p>“Cabin girl,” he squawks, beak preening through her matted hair, and she lets out a wet laugh.</p>
<p>“Cabin girl,” she agrees with him, smiling faintly. She turns her back on the island and adds, “Now, let’s see if we can find some sausages.”</p>
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